New Investments

Matrix e-Ventures Fund VCT PLC 2 April 2001 Matrix e-Ventures Fund VCT Plc Matrix e-Ventures Fund VCT Plc (the 'Company') announces that during March it invested in three new companies and made one follow on investment taking the total number of investee companies to 10 with a total investment cost of £5.3 million. Investments made by the Company during March are as follows: * Magicalia Ltd ('Magicalia') Magicalia, formed in 1999, creates community websites which focus on participation sports such as cycling, golf, fishing and sailing. The first website, Bikemagic, was launched in September 1999 and five more sites have been added. Magicalia has raised £1 million of which £400,000 has been provided by the Company as development capital. The proceeds from the fund raising will be utilised to develop the six existing sites and to launch two new sites. Currently Magicalia has over 29,000 registered users and around 1 million page views per month. Its long term aim is to develop around 20 sites to create a broad based sports and leisure internet publishing business. * Xpert Client Systems Limited ('Xpert') Xpert is a provider of software asset management tools. Since October 2000 the company has developed products based on innovation technology including automatic recognition and data reduction techniques and a client based, rather than server based, approach. Using this technology its core product, Desktop Xpert, automatically builds a profile of the actual usage of software by each user and compares this with the inventory of software installed on each PC and the licences owned. This enables customers to monitor legal compliance with their software licences. Xpert's products are installed on 25,000 PCs in over 100 companies including Racal, Volvo, Fujitsu and Sony. The Company has invested £500,000 in a £1.75 million fund raising the proceeds of which will be used for working capital. * Flightstore Inflight Retailing Limited ('Flightstore') Flightstore, founded in early 2000, uses established technology and proven software skills to create electronic airline branded shopping malls with branded retailers capable of delivering their goods internationally. Airline passengers will be able to browse the electronic stores, which will contain information and entertainment as well as products and services for sale. Flightstore will receive revenues from commission on sales, advertising and information management. The market is growing from 50 million passengers travelling on suitably equipped long haul aircraft in 2000 to a forecast 400 million passengers in 2006. Matrix e-Ventures has invested £750,000 of start up capital out of a £3 million total fund raising. * Sit-up.com Limited. Matrix e-Ventures has already invested £500,000 in this company which is creating a range of programmes for digital TV and the internet. A further £150,000 has now been invested as part of a further £5 million fund raising in which Telewest is making a major investment. Growth will be driven by the promising future for home TV shopping with the penetration of digital TV set to reach in excess of 40% of all households by the end of 2004.
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